R210479 - Press and Communications Manager

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Marketing, Recruitment & Admissions
Location:  Aston University Main Campus
Salary:  £34,304 to £40,927
Grade:  Grade 08
Contract Type:  Continuing
Basis:  Full Time
Closing Date:  23.59 hours GMT on Wednesday 24 November 2021
Interview Date:  Wednesday 01 December 2021
Reference:  R210479
Release Date:  Tuesday 09 November 2021

Aston University is the Guardian University of the Year 2020, and the Times Higher Education’s Entrepreneurial University of the Year. These awards were won for our approach to creating work-ready graduates through placement programmes, and our immense commitment across all academic and professional services that enables our students to achieve their potential with us.

Our press and communications team is a key part of our 80-strong marketing, recruitment and communications (MRC) department. We are primarily responsible for leading on the attraction and conversion of interest to our 200+ undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, as well as managing our credibility and visibility with a wide range of stakeholders. 

The Role

We are looking for a talented and committed press and communications manager to help build and develop the reputation of Aston University in the UK and internationally. This role will report to the head of press and communications and form part of a small team covering three University Colleges (Business and Social Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Health and Life Sciences). This post will have particular responsibility for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and subject expertise in this area would be advantageous. 

This is a key role and will require the post holder to embed, and confidently translate, within the College, a deep subject knowledge and expertise for the benefit of internal and external audiences. You will quickly connect with academic subject experts to drive the University’s profile and reputation, and work collaboratively with colleagues across the MRC department to connect with target audiences. You will also be required to support senior colleagues in the management of issues and crisis communications as and when required. 

The successful candidate will be an experienced, hands-on natural communicator (preferably NCT J-trained) with a proven track record. You will have a dynamic and proactive approach, with a trained eye for a good story and an ability to work with complex subject matter. You will be a proactive ‘newshound’, capable of researching, writing and converting our academic expertise and successes into compelling stories and content for use across all our communication channels. Experience in multimedia journalism and communications, and being able to accurately and quickly curate narratives and imagery for news articles, blogs, vlogs and social media distribution is essential. You will have established journalism networks and be comfortable at cultivating relationships and working smartly with journalists across a wide range of media outlets.

Applications are particularly welcome from candidates who can demonstrate specific experience and expertise in managing press and communications in the subject areas of science and/or engineering. 

We offer a generous annual leave scheme with 30 days bookable leave and a further 13 days bank holiday and University closure days.

Anonymous shortlisting will be carried out for this role as part of Aston University’s commitment to equality and diversity and ensuring a fair and consistent approach to recruitment. 

Further particulars and application forms are available in alternative formats on request i.e. large print, Braille, tape or CD Rom.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact HR via [email protected]

Aston University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.